La Santé — French health vocabulary | Vocabulary
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La Santé
Health French — from small colds to the carte Vitale
Comment ça va ? 🩺
la santéhealth
être en formeto be in good shape
être maladeto be ill
un médecina doctor
un rendez-vousan appointment
la douleurthe pain
Chez le médecin 💊
un médicamenta medicine
une ordonnancea prescription
la pharmaciethe pharmacy
la fièvrefever
un rhumea cold
la grippethe flu
Se soigner 🌡️
tousserto cough
se reposerto rest
guérirto get better / heal
les urgencesthe ER
une mutuellecomplementary health insurance
la carte Vitalethe French health card
📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co
🎬 The 20-second version
Five phrases with « La Santé » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How French healthcare talks
- Avoir mal à + body part is the pain machine: j’ai mal à la tête, au ventre — full system in the body-parts lesson.
- The pharmacist is your first stop for small things — real medical advice, no appointment.
- La carte Vitale is the green card that makes French healthcare run; une mutuelle tops up what it doesn’t cover.
- Sympathy formulas: « Bon rétablissement ! » (get well soon), « Soigne-toi bien ! » (take care of yourself).
- False friend alert: “je suis malade” = I’m ill — but « c’est malade ! » in slang means “that’s crazy/awesome”.
🔊 Useful phrases
J’ai pris rendez-vous chez le médecin.I made a doctor’s appointment.
Vous avez quelque chose contre la toux ?Do you have something for a cough?
Bon rétablissement !Get well soon!
Je me sens déjà mieux.I already feel better.
🔊 Example sentences
Elle a de la fièvre depuis hier.She’s had a fever since yesterday.
Le médecin m’a fait une ordonnance.The doctor gave me a prescription.
Repose-toi, tu es malade !Rest — you’re ill!
✍️ Practice
a prescription = une ___ (from the doctor)
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ordonnance
“get well soon!” = bon ___ ! (recovery)
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rétablissement
the French health card = la carte ___ (green card)
Show answer
Vitale
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Go further: Body parts & the avoir-mal machine — the full lesson.
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